[ cheers and applause ] [ cheers and '6 this morning on "early today," storm watch. crews responding to the gulf oil disaster are evacuated as tropical storm bonnie makes its approach. under fire, a house panel deals a serious blow to congressman charles rangel. and street brawl. a routine stop turns violent for and street brawl. a routine stop turns violent for one ohio police officer. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning to you. welcome to our viewers across the nation including our pacific time zone. i'm veronica de la cruz. today we begin with a state of emergency. louisiana is on edge, and dozens of ships have been ordered to evacuate from the site of the

oil disaster in the gulf as tropical storm bonnie moves toward the area. nbc's kristen dahlgren joins us now live from new orleans. good morning, kristen. >> reporter: good morning, veronica. well, officials made that decision late yesterday to evacuate the well site. so over the next day or so, all of the ships and personnel will be leaving. that cap will stay after holding back for a week. officials say they are confident in its ability. it will remain unmonitored for a time, robots and cameras watching it will go off site. the last to go and first to come back to check things out once the storm passes by. either way it could be some time beof this start work onon the relief wells. it's believed the delay could be between one and two weeks. meantime closer to show officials are working to remove

that boom they had laid out to protect the shore. they are afraid it could push into the wetlands and do more damage. they are pulling that boom in, trying to secure it as we continue to watch to see where exactly bonnie will go. veronica. >> nbc's kristen dahlgren live in louisiana. thank you so much. we're going to get more details on tropical storm bonnie from nbc meteorologist bill karins. that's coming up in just a few minutes. senate democrats abandoning plans to pass a sweeping energy bill this summer that would have kept emissions of carbon dioxide. at a news conference yesterday, majority leader harry reid called the development, quote, terribly disappointing and blamed republicans for refusing to cooperate. republicans, however, have argued the bill would lead to higher energy costs. instead reid and other democrats will push for a narrow measure that improves energy efficiency and looks to increase liability costs for companies involved in oil spills. also on capitol hill, the senate has voted to approve a measure funding president obama's troop increase in afghanistan after stripping out more than $20 billion in domestic spending. house democrats were hoping to

include $10 billion in grants to avoid teacher lay-offs, money for a summer jobs program, and improve security along the u.s./mexico border. the $60 billion bill, which is now limited chiefly toward funding, foreign aid, and medical care funding for veterans will head to the house where it faces an uncertain future. a house investigative committee has dealt a serious blow to new york representative charles rangel, charging the 80-year-old congressman with multiple ethics violations. details of the charges against rangel are expected to be revealed next week, but sources say rangel has racked up violations for wrongful use of rent-stabilized manhattan apartments and failing to report rental income from a beachfront property in the dominican republic. rangel took out his mounting frustrations on nbc's luke russert when he was asked if he's afraid of losing his job. >> how do you think i got my job? i was elected, right? how do you think i'd lose it? >> lose two ways.

you could lose it if your colleagues voted you out of here because of ethics violations or if your constituents did not -- >> what station are you from? >> nbc/msnbc. >> well, you're young. i guess you do need to make a name for yourself, but basically, you know, it's a dumb question. >> rangel, who gave up his position as chairman of the house ways and means committee back in march, maintains his innocence. now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. an ohio man is facing felony assault charges for allegedly attacking a police officer. that officer was trying to arrest the suspect for a hit-and-run when the pair began to struggle. in the end, the cop had to be hospitalized with swelling on his face, but he is now recovering at home. new york police are searching for the dark lord of the sith. well, sort of. a man wearing a darth vader costume robbed a long island bank this week, but there was no light saber here. he had a gun and was given an undisclosed amount of cash before taking off on foot. one nebraska town is taking its love of music to the street.

a cafe owner has placed a piano outside her shop, encouraging anyone to come and play. both young and old enjoy serenading the passersby. that's regardless of their level of musical talents. brave shop owner. and the humane society of maryland is reminding drivers of the dangers of leaving kids or pets in your car exposed to the sweltering summer sun. to demonstrate, they left cookies to bake on the dashboard of a car. and well, the sweets not only baked. some of them even burned. yikes. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc's meteorologist bill karins with your weather channel forecast. good morning to you, bill. i understand, we've been in the middle of a heat wave. it was 120 in the car. >> if the temperature outside is that warm and closed in. dangers always in the summer months. good reminder. let's talk about what's happening in the tropics. mentioning bonnie and impacts of

it's about to move on shore. winds are gusty, a weak tropical system, not going to cause any destruction. an equivalent to a squally type day. rain will pick up in miami shortly. watching out west yesterday, it was warm, 106 in vegas. cooler yesterday. sacramento 92, medford at 95. that heat still in the salt lake city area. you've had a hot summer, too, lately. 94. the storm bringing clouds in the pacific northwest. that's improved a little bit and pushing away. today is going to warm up significantly. we're going to see a nice day. seattle and portland. say 85, that's beautiful. boise, 89, should be nice. low humidity for you. a little hot in vegas at 107. the valley of california will be warm once again. coastal areas, cool in san francisco. winds haven't shifted much offshore. on shore wind for a long time. that's why your temperatures remain only in the 60s. that's a

92 and sunny expected. tucson, arizona, mix of sun and clouds. we'll have that weekend forecast later in the show. >> temperatures in the 60s and 70s in san francisco. i want to be there. >> you have to wear a sweater. >> i would enjoy it. it's too hot here. >> i know. >> thanks, bill. earnings soar, more outrageous bonuses, and the most successful horror franchise of all time. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, a true heavyweight battle, angelina jolie takes on leonardo dicaprio this weekend at the box office. ichero robs the home run champ, a walk-off in miami, and a-rod is one big swing closer to 600. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. secretary of state hillary rodham clinton is warning north korea, the country, that it must reverse a, quote, campaign of provocative, dangerous behavior if it wants to improve relations with its neighbors in the united states. clinton made the comments at an asian security meeting in vietnam before holding rare face-to-face talks with north korea's top diplomat. meanwhile, south korean media is reporting the u.s. plans to freeze some 100 overseas bank accounts believed to be used by kim jong-il to run his north korean regime. according to a government report, northwest airlines passengers were put at risk due to the airlines' cozy relationship with the federal aviation administration. the report backs claims made by an faa whistleblower that northwest repeatedly failed to follow federal safety regulations but was not held accountable by the faa. pope benedict xvi has defrocked ohio priest thomas krumm. krumm was removed from his

ministry last year after reportedly admitting he abused a teenage boy more than 30 years ago. and a 100-year-old crate of whiskey is giving new meaning to the term "scotch on the rocks." new zealand museum officials are slowly thawing a crate of scotch that was discovered in the antarctic hut of an english explorer who abandoned the stash about 100 years ago. and now here's an early look at how wall street's going to kick off the day. the dow opens at 10,322 after soaring 201 points. and the s&p added 24, and the nasdaq gained 58. and taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei jumped 210 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng went up 225. thanks to strong earnings from some key companies, wall street posted its best day in over two weeks yesterday. all signs point to more of the same today. united parcel service viewed as a barometer of consumer and business demand rose more than 5% after raising its profit outlook.

heavy machinery manufacturer caterpillar was up almost 2% after reporting strong sales of equipment for a wide range of industries. 3m, also considered a bellwether because of its broad base of products jumped more than 3% after delivering an upbeat future forecast and a jump in net income. good numbers from big names after the bell. as well, microsoft already up 3% in regular trade reported a rise in quarterly profit after hours. also late, american express beat street expectations, tripling its second quarter profit, helping amex bring its business back to pre-recession levels. one big after-hours loser, amazon.com's earnings fell way short of wall street's estimates, sending its shares plummeting. elsewhere, general motors getting back into the credit business, agreeing to buy subprime auto lender americredit for $3.5 billion. reports say later today kenneth feinberg, the obama administration's executive compensation czar, will name 17 financial companies that doled

out excessive bonuses to the tune of $1.6 billion after accepting billions of dollars of taxpayer aid. consumers union charges over the past decade, blue cross and blue shield stockpiled a surplus of billions of dollars and yet continue to hit consumers with double-digit premium increases. and, finally, after earning $730 million and selling more than 30 million dvds, the "guinness book of world records" is recognizing "the saw" movie series as the most successful horror movie franchise of all time. a marlins walk-off homer, the orioles' walk-off ejected, and a-rod nears a historic milestone. plus, ichiro may be best known for his bat, but he is not bad with a glove either. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. in weather, we're going to talk about bonnie. we're also going to give you your weekend forecast. that's all coming up. you're watching "early today."

well, good morning to you. if you are just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, houston astros' pitcher roy oswalt looks like he has his eyes set on the st. louis cardinals. here's nbc's bill seward with an early morning look at all your sports headlines. hi, everybody.

with the trade deadline a week away, the st. louis cardinals have emerged as the front-runners to make a deal for astros' pitcher roy oswalt. according to sources, oswalt would wave his no-trade clause to play for the redbirds. a pitchers' duel between the cards and phillies, jayson werth beat adam wainwright, hello. six strikeouts over six scoreless innings for wainwright. cole hamels with a no-hitter through four and got a little help from his friends. shane victorino flashing leather here. clutch catch and then tosses to the first for the double play. hamel's allowing just one hit and struck out eight. well, someone finally scored in the 11th. placido polanco, a two-run homer. that's the difference. phillies win, 2-0. walk-off, anyone? rockies and marlins tied at 2-2 in the ninth, and ronny paulino sends everybody home with an rbi single. marlins win it, 3-2. pitcher josh johnson with 11 strikeouts. the yankees' alex rodriguez is one swing closer to his 600th home run. he belted number 599 against the

royals, surprise, surprise. yankees beat k.c., 10-4. to seattle, david ortiz won last week's home run derby, but things, well, could have been different if ichero was roaming the outfield then. big poppy with a shot to right, and ichiro on his horse. leaping at the wall, robbing ortiz of the homer. so nice, you've got to see it twice. and, finally, to baltimore, twins and orioles, first baseman ty wigginton appears to tag out j.j. hardy as he slides back to first, but the ump sees it differently, calls hardy safe, and wigginton wigs out. he is ejected. out comes manager juan samuel. joining in on the fun. he, too, sent to the showers, and the fans gave samuel a standing ovation, probably the only standing "o" in baltimore this year. the o's suffer their league worst, 65th loss. twins prevail, 5-0. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm bill seward. well, reports say there is a suspect in the case of who leaked the mel gibson tapes. your early morning entertainment headlines, straight ahead. also, a high water mark for american women on the high sea.

you're watching "early today."

lassiter lasseter

no rain in sight. leave the umbrella at home everywhere in the west, seattle, boise, salt lake city to vegas, everyone on the hot side.

there are a little bit of early morning showers and clouds in arizona but that shouldn't cause any problems. as we head into saturday, look at the heat building. portland 92, medford 103, interior section of california is going to be a steam bath this weekend also. not a lot changes even into sunday, medford still around 102. 111 in vegas. looks like our late summer heat is here to stay. if you're watching on krnv reno, nevada, learn about the best known modern artist at the 20th century, pablo picasso musical instruments exhibit at the nevada museum of art. >> are you a picasso fan. >> i have a weakness in my art culture i'd like to work on. >> bill, you do that. here is an early look at

headlines. angelina jolie's much hyped spy caper, "salt," in which she replaced tom cruz's main character before shooting began can help her solidify her reputation in the big box office if it reaches the $35 million to $45 million most experts are predicting. if it does, it will also be the weekend's top film. with $30 million to $35 million, leonardo dicaprio's effects-filled thriller, "inception," last weekend's champ could take the top spot again if "salt" underperforms. and former number one, "despicable me" won't win this weekend, but with $15 million to $20 million, it should take third and top $150 million after only three weeks out. elsewhere, "the hollywood reporter" says several sources confirm oksana grigorieva's younger sister natalie is suspected of leaking the mel gibson tapes. if so, oksana could be found in contempt of court and face possible extortion charges. finally, on a happier note, actor orlando bloom and model miranda kerr are married, and they are currently honeymooning. you know what, bill, i'm due. i haven't seen a movie since section and the city 2. >> the most embarrassing confession of the day, i think

that's the last movie i saw. it's horrible. >> every guy in the studio just booed. >> it could have been worse, i think. >> my goodness, all right, thanks. this comes from wrc nbc 4 in washington, d.c., where four women in the navy are making history. for the first time ever, all of the sailors of the year are women. they were chosen by their shipmates for their leadership, their professionalism, superior performance, so on and so forth. during a special pinning ceremony this week, they were also promoted to the rank of chief petty officer. you know what i have to say to that, bill, you go girls. >> i know. >> you can say it, too. >> sometimes they wear white, sometimes they don't. i never know which they will wear. >> they always look great. >> they do. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.

well, if laughter is the best medicine, seniors in the philippines must be in good health. laughter yoga combines yoga techniques and giggling and is said to awaken the senses, strengthening the immune system and mind. now laughter yoga is being used in jail as well with both inmates and guards using the bonding sessions to ease inmate anxiety and also build harmony in the prisons. well, if you thought bowling wasn't cool, think again. with temperatures at an all-time high yesterday in tokyo, locals young and old headed to the heart of the business district to try their hand at ice bowling. the perfect prescription for 100-degree heat, a bowling ball

made of ice, a 16-foot bowling lane, of course, made of ice, and smashing pins all made of ice. so if ice bowling couldn't cool you off, how about lying on top of a glacier? that's what some locals in russia did. dressed in bathing suits and trunks, they tried to escape 90-degree temperatures that continue to grip parts of russia by enjoying the cool year-round 40-degree temperature of the blue glaciers, which is a unique and refreshing spot for sunbathing. a little chilly, though, 40 degrees. >> if you're laying on top of it. it looked hot otherwise. >> how about the ice bowling? >> that was kind of cool. plus, it had the bumpers on the side, so you're guaranteed to hit the pins. that's what i like. >> time for an early look at stories we're following right here on nbc. the shrimping season will officially kick off in mobile, alabama -- mobile bay, alabama. shrimpers have endured a two-month delay due to the gulf oil disaster, but official says the shrimp there are oil-free. in the wake of the economic

meltdown, government pay czar ken feinberg will unveil his findings on which wall street firms used poor judgment in funding big paydays for high-ranking executives using taxpayer bailouts. and in mississippi michelle obama will christen the coast guard's newest national security cutter stratton. the high-tech ship is named for dorothy c. stratton, the coast guard's first female commissioned officer. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. also tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. meredith vieira sit downs with the sisters of norma lopez, a 17-year-old california girl who was found murdered this week. and singer/songwriter john mayer rocks the plaza in the summer concert series. and now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and much more. i'm veronica de la cruz. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of

the day, today on your nbc station. have a great day.